If the collision course that Orleans and Y-D are on stays true in the postseason, their East Division finals series will likely be close. Five of the six games in their season series were decided by two runs or fewer.
And in those close games, Y-D would have to be the favorite.
The Red Sox beat the Firebirds 4-2 in 10 innings Thursday night to win the season series 5-1. Orleans has now lost eight games to the rest of the league and five to the Red Sox. The Firebirds remain in first place in the East, but Y-D is now within a point.
The latest Red Sox triumph came after Orleans jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Firebirds wouldn’t score again, though, and Y-D tied the game in the fifth. Nicholas Quintana (Arizona) hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th and Y-D held off Orleans in the bottom half for the win.
Josh McMinn (Oral Roberts) continued to be a thorn in Orleans’ side. The starting pitcher in three of Y-D’s five wins over the Firebirds, he settled down after giving up the two early runs and went five strong innings. Riley McCauley (Michigan State) got himself into major trouble in the bottom of the ninth with three walks and faced a 3-2 count on Jaxx Groshans (Kansas), but got him to groundout to end the inning.
After Y-D took the lead, Hunter Parsons (Maryland) pitched a perfect bottom of the 10th to seal the win.
Carter Pharis (UAB) and Kyle Isbel (UNLV) drove in the other runs for Y-D. Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) had two RBI for the Firebirds to take over the league lead, but that was the team’s only offense of the day.
Bourne 4, Harwich 1
With Cotuit rained out and Falmouth losing, Bourne reclaimed the top spot in the West standings thanks to a power surge in a win over Harwich. The Braves don’t typically get a lot of their offense from long balls, but Zac Susi (UConn) hit two home runs and Andrew Fregia (Sam Houston State) smacked one to stake Bourne to the lead. Zack Hess (LSU) struck out five in three scoreless innings, Sean Leland (Illinois) allowed one run in 3.1 innings and Kyle Marman (Florida Atlantic) worked the final 2.2 innings for the save. The loss – and a win by Brewster – eliminated Harwich from playoff contention.
Chatham 4, Falmouth 2
Johnny Aiello (Wake Forest) went 3-for-4 with his first home run and Josh Stowers (Louisville) had two RBI to lead the Chatham offense, which rallied from a 1-0 hole in the second inning and didn’t trail again. Joseph Lienhard (Oklahoma State) kept the Anglers in front with five dominant innings of relief. He allowed just one hit and struck out six. Josiah Gray (LeMoyne) struck out the side in the ninth for his third save. For Falmouth, Alec Bohm (Wichita State) hit his fifth home run, but it was the only extra-base hit of the night.
Brewster 8, Wareham 7
The Whitecaps out-slugged Wareham and clinched a playoff spot in the East, while keeping pace with Chatham in the race for the No. 3 seed. Chandler Taylor (Alabama) went 2-for-4 with four RBI and hit his eighth homer of the summer, which moves him into a three-way tie for the league lead. A.J. Graffanino (Washington) added two RBI and Marty Costes (Maryland) had one. Six pitchers combined to hold Wareham off, with Joe Demers (Washington) credited with the win and Matthew Beck (LSU) escaping a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for the save. Wareham’s Justin Montgomery (California Baptist) – the West All-Star Game starter – had a short outing, allowing four runs in 1.1 innings. The Gatemen have lost five in a row on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
What to Watch
Y-D owns the season series with Orleans, but its set with third-place Chatham is tied 2-2. The fifth matchup is today at Red Wilson Field.